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Home > Brewers > Massachusetts > Cambridge Brewing Company >

Cambridge Barrel-Aged Blunderbuss Barleywine


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A Barley Wine brewed by
Cambridge Brewing Company

Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

bottling
unknown

on tap
available

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73.7/5.03.52/5.0Winter11%0Snifter P  Stats

Commercial Description:
The process of creating our barleywine begins in late summer by cramming our mash tun to overflowing with American and Scottish pale and German Munich malts. We then extract only the richest first runnings from the mash and boil extensively to further concentrate the sugars in the wort. During the boil a touch of honey is added to the kettle, along with Magnum, Centennial, Tomahawk, Cascades, and Fuggles hops to provide balance for the sweet malt. 100% of this special expression of Blunderbuss has since been aging gracefully in a quartet of Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels in the now infamous CBC Barrel Cellar. A second batch of Blunderbuss, all stainless steel fermented and aged, will be released later in the season. The result is well worth this painstaking ordeal. A creamy, pale tan head rests atop this beautiful amber liquid. Captured within the rim of a snifter, the first aromas to greet the nose are of alcohol’s fruity esters, then notes of rich caramel and sweet malt. As it warms, more distinguishable notes of burnt sugar and toffee, vanilla, and spicy hops are detectable. The flavor more than meets the prelude of aromas. Its rich, full body contains complex toasty malt notes, sweet caramel, tart flavors of berries and dried fruits and herbal hoppiness, followed by a warming alcohol sensation, and a lingering finish of spirit and oak. This ultimate after-dinner drink pairs well with many desserts, but is also certainly a dessert in and of itself. OG: 1.105 FG: 1.020

 Rciesla (910), Brick City, New Jersey, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/56/103/513/20
Jun 14, 2008  
Draft. Pours a light brown amber body with a thin head. Aroma is etoh, dark fruit, some hop character. Flavor is fruity sweet, with a a moderate warming and some bitter hop character. decent.


 ukoolaid (566), Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/58/103/517/20
Apr 27, 2008  
On tap. Pours dark cherry amber with thin off-white head. Aroma is thick sweet malts and caramel. Taste is sweet brandy and dark fruits with a little oak. A little bitterness in the finish. Strong alcohol. Good, but not great.


 pantanap (793), Chicago, Illinois, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/103/515/20
Apr 25, 2008  
draft at the brewpub..... pours a dark amber brown with a mainly off-white head which slowly dimiinished to a milder level towards the edges...aroma of aged dark fruit and toffee like malt with a fair amount of sweet brandy like barrel aging..... flavors of dark fruit and a nice barrel aging charactier but it still remains pretty hot overall. carbonation level was a little high to my llking and the finsh left it somewhat boozy.... i really liked this one and would love to measure it up to ba angel’s share.


 CharlesDarwin (1413), State College, Pennsylvania, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/515/20
Apr 15, 2008  
On tap at the brewpub. Wicked nose in acacia leaf, bourbon barrel and freshly hewn hemlock timbers. Rich, creamy and inviting. Some long drawn lilac and teak. Nice. Pours a hazed mid-orange amber. Rim in white. A very charred and oaky presentation. Barrel dominates the beer from the get go and adds that Manhattan-like alcohol dryness. Bourbon-dominated fruit character. Almost thin. And some un-ascribable bitterness washes through. Not my favorite. Hot and overwhelmingly bourboned. The beer can’t hold up to the barrel and that’s a sign of failure in my book. Light caramelized sugars and old hops back out. Too much barrel time.


 Slipstream (400), USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/56/104/512/20
Apr 14, 2008  
The aroma is rich and vinous. Flavor is smooth and rich, with the alcohol coming thru a little too clearly. Sweet and bourbon-like, with hops in the finish.



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